Media Reality Check -- 12/14/2000 -- ABC "SETS THE TABLE" FOR BUSH WITH JESSE JACKSON CONSPIRACY THEORIES

For Immediate Release: Katie Wright (703) 683-5004 - Thursday, December 14, 2000

GIBSON: NO HONEYMOON FOR RACIST REPUBLICANS

ABC "SETS THE TABLE" FOR BUSH WITH JESSE JACKSON CONSPIRACY THEORIES

-- Al Gore may have called last night for the country to unify behind President-elect George W. Bush, but Jesse Jackson doesn't have to listen, and neither does ABC. On today's Good Morning America, Charles Gibson promoted left-wing protests against Bush:

-- "On January 21st, the day after George W. Bush's inauguration, a demonstration is planned by black Americans to protest the election outcome. The day is also Martin Luther King Day. We've been following and will continue to follow the story of the disenfranchised black voter."

-- Gibson introduced a Karla Davis report detailing "Several lawsuits filed in Florida allege blatant irregularities: voter intimidation, moving polling sites, and purging voters' names from rolls without letting them know about it." Then co-host Charles Gibson interviewed Republican Rep. J.C. Watts and Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel. He began:

-- "Congressman Watts, let me start with you. African-American precincts in Florida, more, far more black votes in areas thrown out than white votes. Disproportionately high percentage of black voters show up at the polls and find their names aren't on the voting list. Many blacks furious that if their votes had been counted, Al Gore would be President. What kind of table does that set for George W. Bush?"

-- Just who is "setting the table" for Bush? It's not just hard-left black activists, but every media outlet that has promoted these conspiracy theories without taking the time to substantiate them. It may have been the morning after Gore conceded the campaign was over, but it's not over for the network news. The honeymoon has not arrived.

L. Brent Bozell III, Publisher; Brent Baker, Rich Noyes, Editors; Jessica Anderson, Brian Boyd, Geoffrey Dickens, Patrick Gregory, Ken Shepherd, Brad Wilmouth, Media Analysts; Kristina Sewell, Research Associate; Liz Swasey, Director of Communications. For the latest liberal media bias, read the CyberAlert at www.mrc.org.